Pilot Mental Health Assessment and Support: A practitioner?s guide

The presentation of mental illness at work has different implications and consequences depending on the specific nature of the job, work context, regulatory framework and risks for the employee, organisation and society. Naturally there are certain occupational groups where human factors and/or mental illness could impair safety and mental acuity, and with potentially devastating consequences. For pilots, the medical criteria for crew licensing are stipulated by regulatory aviation authorities worldwide, and these include specific mental illness exclusions. The challenge of assessment for mental health problems is, however, complex and the responsibility for psychological screening and testing falls to a range of different specialists and groups including AMEs (authorised aviation medical examiners), GPs and physicians, airline human resources departments, psychologists, human factor specialists and pilots themselves.

Extending and developing the ideas of Aviation Mental Health (2006), which described a range of psychological issues and problems that may affect pilots and the consequences of these, this book presents an authoritative, comprehensive and practical guide to modern, evidence-based practice in the field of mental health assessment, treatment and care. It features contributions from experts in the field drawn from several countries, professions and representing a range of aviation-related organisations, displaying a range of different skills and methods that can be used for the clinical assessment of pilots and in relation to specific mental-health problems and syndromes.

Robert Bor, DPhil CPsychol CSci FBPsS FRAeS UKCP Reg, is a Registered and Chartered Clinical Counselling and Health Psychologist, Registered Aviation Psychologist and Co-Director of the Centre for Aviation Psychology.

Carina Eriksen, MSc DipPsych CPsychol FBPsS BABCP, is an HCPC Registered and BPS Chartered Consultant Counselling Psychologist and Registered Aviation Psychologist.

Margaret Oakes, MA (Cantab) MSc, Dip Psych, DPsych, CPsychol, is a Counselling Psychologist and airline pilot.

Peter Scragg, BSc PsychD FBPsS, is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Principal Teaching Fellow at University College London.